


To Die Again

by HeliumStar



Series: Succumb [2]
Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Mentions of Death, There isn't much romance, There's a lot of dying, and death, and more death, and the romance is rather one sided, it's art, or complicated, some gore but not worse than canon, suicide?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-07-11 22:01:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15981383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeliumStar/pseuds/HeliumStar
Summary: And Stefano thinks that maybe, just maybe, he and Sebastian are meant to be there. Together like they are. For as long as Sebastian keeps coming back, and for as long as Stefano keeps killing him, they are trapped.Like caught in a loop, Sebastian comes to confront Stefano but falls just short of defeating him every time. Stefano doesn't mind, and he thinks that maybe... just maybe, Sebastian doesn't either.





	To Die Again

**Author's Note:**

> I think... I'm a psychopath. A little bit. Because I relate a lot to Stefano and I really understand (and agree) what he means when he says death is beautiful. I swear I'm not evil or plan to kill anyone. I'm just saying... I have a lot of ideas.  
> Anyway, don't mind me. Read! Enjoy!

Sebastian opens his eyes. There is breath in his lungs, and his heart thumps steadily. His hands wander to the left side of his chest. He remembers a blade between his ribs, but it is no longer there.

He focuses his gaze on the ceiling but doesn't recognize it. It takes him a moment to regain the ability to move properly and push himself off the floor and stand up. Once he is up and standing it becomes much easier to make out his surrounding.

Sebastian finds himself in the room filled with Stefano's art, where Sebastian is the only mobile thing in the room. He is alone, and the only noise is his own breaths.

Confusion washes over him. Sebastian is certain that he died earlier. He remembers the pain and the misery. But he also remembers the peace.

His gaze is drawn towards the nearest of Stefano's scenes.

In it, a man dressed in tactical armor stands eerily still. The man has lost his helmet, his mouth is slightly open and his eyes closed as if he's relaxing. As if he hasn't noticed that his chest has exploded open in a still firework of blood.

Unlike earlier, the dread Sebastian feels when he looks at the pieces is replaced by jealousy. Sebastian knows the feeling. The calm. The soothing numbness. The heavenly peace.

For a just a moment, Sebastian had been at rest. Nothing had mattered. It had been over. He had been released of responsibilities and duties. There had been nothing but blissful peace.

Now, however, the dull pain of old wounds and the burden of his task settles itself on his shoulders once more. It is so heavy that Sebastian has to lean against a nearby pillar to steady himself. He is bothered, and it is difficult to concentrate. He searches his mind for purpose, trying to recall what he was doing before.

"Lily..." Sebastian remembers. He was looking for her. Following her through Union to rescue her. To bring her back home.

With newfound determination, Sebastian takes a deep breath and heads for the doors that lead into the next room.

-

Pride blossoms in Stefano's chest as he sits and stares at the image of Sebastian Castellanos drawing his last breath. It's beautiful, and so much better than Stefano could ever hope to imagine.

He loves the way Sebastian's eyes are fixed on him, lids relaxed and mouth curled into an astonished smile.

It is absolutely enamoring.

Stefano sighs dreamily and reaches forward, gently caressing the still Sebastian's bruised cheek.

"My masterpiece," he murmurs as he withdraws his hand.

He turns around when the doors behind him are pushed open, and for a moment he doesn't believe what he sees. His gaze darts back to the frozen scene before him and then back to the door where a new Sebastian stands.

"How-?" Stefano chokes out. "Sebastian?"

Sebastian looks at him, and Stefano looks back. Sebastian's expression is difficult to read. His face is stern and lips pressed into a tight line, but there is something in his eyes that doesn't really match the rest of him.

Hesitation.

Stefano looks over his shoulder once more, sparing a glance at the Sebastian that is still frozen in time.

Sebastian in the doorway grows pale. "Is that..." His breath catches in his throat. "That's me..."

Stefano nods slowly. "It is you," he says.

Slowly, Sebastian steps forward. Limping slightly as he approaches his frozen self. Stefano does not try to stop him and steps away to allow Sebastian a closer look. Sebastian stares at the image of himself, and the knife lodged in his other self's chest. He gulps as pain surges through him, but it isn't physical pain. It's emotional, and a hundred times worse than a blade.

He turns to Stefano. "You did this to me," he says. His voice is trembling, overflowing with accusation and sadness. "You..."

Stefano looks surprised and is suddenly struck by the wonderful realization that Sebastian Castellanos is alive and stands before him again. "My dear, sweet Sebastian," he coos. "You cannot even begin to understand how thrilled I am to see you again."

Sebastian glares at him. But his angry scowl isn't as full as it was before. There's exhaustion in him. He looks as if he is ready to collapse, but his determination keeps him standing.

"What a delightful surprise to see you alive and well again," Stefano continues cheerfully.

Sebastian lets out a short bark of laughter, that sounds anything but amused. "Alive and well?" he growls. "How dare you? Where is my daughter? What have you done with her?" He draws his gun and aims it at Stefano, who gives a defeated sigh.

"Wonderful." Stefano practically vibrates with excitement. His fingers are itching, and his heart pounds in his chest. This is a unique opportunity, he tells himself. The chance to work with the same subject twice. For obvious reasons, Stefano has never had that chance before.

Yet here Sebastian is. Practically delivering himself to Stefano.

Stefano takes time to arrange his new scene. This time he wants drama. He doesn't want a silent surrender.

He captures a fountain of crimson spraying from Sebastian's throat after a precise slash across his delicate neck. The beads of blood scattered in the air form a perfect crescent around Sebastian, who looks as if he's been handed treasure. Awe is written all over his face.

Peace.

.

When Sebastian opens his eyes, he's back in the previous room, staring at the same ceiling, surrounded by the same frozen scenes.

He gets up again, forcing any thoughts of pain to the back of his mind.

Memories of death are fresh. A moment of bliss. Of absolute serenity.

It's like a high. Like the hundreds of drinks he's downed and the hundreds of cigarettes he's smoked, only a million times more powerful. He finds himself craving it. Longing for another hit.

"No," he tells himself. "I have to find Lily."

-

Stefano has to keep himself from whimpering when Sebastian steps through the doors again. He feels blessed. Like whatever power rules in Union has granted him what he desires most.

If there was a heaven, Stefano imagined that it would be just like this.

Where he waits in a room that slowly fills up with new versions of Sebastian and the many ways he meets his demise.

In one scene a metal rod is shoved through Sebastian's gut while he stares down at it, amazed. 

In another, Sebastian lies still on the ground, eyes fixed on the lights in the ceiling while his hands cradle the intestines that are spilling out of the gaping cavity in his chest.

It is beautiful.

Stefano performs, and when he is done, he waits patiently for Sebastian to return so that they can start again.

The fifth time Sebastian appears Stefano feels particularly inspired, using whatever power he's got to wrench the life out of Sebastian, who seems wearier each time he steps into the room.

The eleventh time Sebastian comes back, Sebastian does not even have time to raise his gun before Stefano is upon him. It's too easy.

The sixteenth time Sebastian does nothing to stop the oncoming assault.

The eighteenth time Stefano hesitates, if only for a moment.

The twentieth time Sebastian steps through the door Stefano does nothing. The two men stare at one another. Waiting for the other to act, but no one moves. Stefano is panting, his heart is pounding so hard and so fast that his vision is blurry. Sebastian is calm and stands relaxed at the entrance to the room that's filled with versions of himself.

Stefano manages to catch his breath. "Why are you doing this?" He asks. "You are not even trying any longer." He can't hide the annoyance in his voice. It is not because Sebastian's compliance takes anything away from the experience of killing him. On the contrary, it adds a whole new sense of... satisfaction when Sebastian finally gives in to death, always with a look that can only be described as grateful.

Sebastian doesn't answer at first. He stands and stares sadly at the man before him. His breaths are slow, his posture tired and his eyes pleading.

"Please..."

The plea is so silent Stefano can barely hear it. "Please?" He questions.

Sebastian's expression falls into a frown. "Please," he repeats. "Please, kill me."

Stefano stands stunned for a few seconds, trying to comprehend the request. He is eager to comply, there are still so many ways he wishes to display Sebastian, but he can't understand why Sebastian would suddenly give up and let him.

"Why?"

Sebastian steps forward. "Please. Give me peace," he says. "I am tired."

"Ah," Stefano murmurs and a smile slowly appears on his face. "I see. It's addicting, isn't it? That one moment. When it is taken out of your hands. When the burden is lifted, and you are finally free."

"Yes," Sebastian breathes out. He takes another step forward, so close that Stefano can make out the tiny imperfections on Sebastian's skin. "Once more," Sebastian says. "I just need it once more."

Stefano extends his arm and cups his gloved hand around the back of Sebastian's neck, gingerly pulling him closer. "Just once more, yes?" he murmurs into Sebastian's hair. Sebastian sighs. "It is always one more," Stefano whispers. "Just as it is never just one more."

"Please," Sebastian whimpers. "Just one more time."

Stefano places a kiss on Sebastian's forehead. "For you, my dear, one more."

-

Sebastian has lost count of the number of times he has stepped through the doors to face Stefano. He doesn't remember what he's there to do, or how he ended up there. His body and mind are craving the release Stefano gives him. There are no thoughts other than those of longing. Longing for death. For liberation. For Stefano's grasp.

Stefano complies everytime Sebastian begs for another go. Another chance to feel anything but the misery of life in Union.

And Stefano thinks that maybe, just maybe, he and Sebastian are meant to be there. Together like they are. For as long as Sebastian keeps coming back, and for as long as Stefano keeps killing him, they are trapped. Stefano will remain, he tells himself, for as long as Sebastian continues to come back for more.

It is, however, in the moments between their brief meetings that Stefano himself feels... incomplete. He is surrounded by pieces of his art. So many memories and images that he couldn't count them even if he wanted to. When Sebastian isn't' there, Stefano misses him. The still versions of him do a poor job to replace the real, live thing.

Stefano knows what has happened. He is an artist, and art will always be his passion. Sebastian is his subject, the centerpiece and is now the motive of the majority of his pieces. Stefano loves his works, and in turn, he loves Sebastian.

And Sebastian loves Stefano. Because in the hell that is Union, Stefano is the only one who can grant Sebastian a moment of rest.

A little piece of heaven.

-

The next time Sebastian returns Stefano is not there to greet him at the door. It takes Sebastian several moments to search the room, only to find Stefano admiring the latest of his work. Standing mesmerized before the frozen scene with a dreamy look in his eyes.

"Sebastian." Stefano sighs. He turns to face Sebastian with a tender smile. "Come to me."

Sebastian does, walking with slow steps towards the artist until he is standing an arm's length apart. He allows Stefano to position him where he wants him without protest or reluctance. There is another kind of respite in letting Stefano do as he pleases.

This time, unlike the many times before, Stefano is gentle. He moves slower and touches Sebastian delicately and lovingly, caressing rather than directing. His fingers are bare of Sebastian's arms, the artist's gloves discarded somewhere in the room because Stefano couldn't stand to not touch Sebastian any longer.

They don't speak, but there is an unspoken truce between them. Sebastian lets Stefano work, and in turn gets what he wants. He looks at Stefano, who runs his slim fingers through Sebastian's hair, gently raking his nails against Sebastian's scalp.

"What are you doing?" Sebastian asks because Stefano has been going on for minutes without doing anything but touch and caress him. He receives a soft smile.

"You are beautiful," Stefano whispers, gazing into Sebastian's eyes to convey that nothing Stefano has ever said is truer. He slides his fingers in under Sebastian's chin and gently tilts his face down. "Gorgeous."

Sebastian says nothing. He doesn't know whether he should be flattered or not, but there is a comfort in Stefano's words and his soothing touch. He lifts his gaze to meet Stefano's.

It is Stefano who gives in. Who cannot control, or rather, doesn't want to hold back. He pulls Sebastian in that last inch and captures his lips with his own.

It feels as if Stefano has waited a lifetime to do that. Waited for Sebastian.

Sebastian is not reluctant, but it takes time before he relaxes into the kiss and returns it with an equal amount of desperation and want as Stefano shows him. He wraps his arms around the artist, gripping at his clothes to force himself closer.

Sebastian doesn't notice that they are moving until Stefano has him pressed up against the nearest wall. The weight of Stefano's body against his is comforting and feels needed, but it isn't quite enough.

Sebastian curses under his breath, as much as he can with Stefano attached to his lips.

"More," he begs between heated kisses. "One more time, please."

Stefano smiles against Sebastian's lips.

"Again," Sebastian prays.

Stefano pulls away, his smile tender and adoring as he wraps his fingers around Sebastian's throat. At first, he's gentle and affectionate, stroking the skin softly to reassure, before adding pressure.

Sebastian sighs under the gentle pressure, and Stefano is not sure if it's because Sebastian is enjoying the act, or is pleased to get his high. It doesn't matter. Stefano is enjoying it.

He increases the amount of weight of puts on Sebastian's throat, squeezing harder and adoring the way Sebastian struggles for a short moment before he gives in with a sharp gasp and lets the darkness take him.

Stefano watches.

He watches, but he doesn't bother to stop time as Sebastian fades.

This he doesn't want to display.

Not this time.

This time is only for Stefano to see.


End file.
